This innocent act really irks me....

[carpe diem]

....Republicans and the MSM pretending like the hate speech and partisanship that's so 'poisonous' isn't 95% the right-wing hate machine's fault...


http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2005-06-05-freshmen-congress_x.htm

When it comes to naming their biggest disappointment, the freshmen are unanimous: "The continuing rancor between Republicans and Democrats," Rep. Mike Conaway, R-Texas, says.


"Awful," Wasserman Schultz agrees. Martinez calls it "poisonous."


Some freshmen have had firsthand experiences of the bitter partisanship:


• Martinez says it was "never my intention to politicize this issue" when he authored a bill ordering a federal court review of the case of Terri Schiavo, a brain-damaged Florida woman whose husband wanted to remove her feeding tube and whose parents did not.


When a memo by one of his aides surfaced that called the Schiavo case "a great political issue" for Republicans, Martinez was mortified. He fired the aide and apologized to two Democrats who helped him win passage of his bill. "They got over it faster than I did," he says.

[Pooka Fey]

1. Hypocrisy, thy name is Republican. n/t

[Psephos]

2. Both sides are guilty

Any student of political history also knows this is nothing new.

Peace.

[cestpaspossible]

5. Yeah, there's no need to actually look at the facts

when platitudes, generalities, unsupported assertions, false equivalencies, and phony appeals to authority can be so persuasive.

[Psephos]

6. Ain't it the truth! n/t

[carpe diem]

7. this is NOT coming from both sides...

i can't say any better than this...

http://dneiwert.blogspot.com/

Listen to the beat
Saturday, June 04, 2005  
Just like clockwork, the beat of white-supremacist hatred keeps on drumming, the latest manifestation in Santa Clara, California, where swastikas and hate slogans were etched into lawns in a mixed-race neighborhood.

Where does this start? It starts with Tom DeLay and Co. killing federal hate-crimes legislation and demanding the heads of the judiciary for failing to conform to the demands of the religious right. It starts with Ann Coulter and Co. urging on the virtues of a little "local fascism" when dealing with "treasonous" liberals. It starts with Rush Limbaugh doling out fresh doses of liberal-hate to millions of listeners every day. Oh, and did we mention Fox News?

At the root of this liberal-bashing, as I've argued for a long time, is a hatred of multiculturalism. What happens on the street level is that all of the minorities whose presence is embraced by multiculturalism are the natural first targets of this intolerance as it festers into white working-class resentment and finally action.

Remember, too, that multiculturalism arose specifically as a response to white supremacism -- which, in fact, it replaced as the reigning national racial ethos. Those who constantly disparage multiculturalism seem oddly reticent about what they'd replace it with -- except, of course, white supremacists like David Duke and Billy Roper, who are fairly clear on the subject.

..................................................

...there is nothing comparable to this on the left and NEVER has been.

[Psephos]

9. This IS coming from both sides

Look, politics is a rough sport, and always has been. It's about the uneven distribution of power and resources...the same factors that engender war. Small wonder it draws forth bitter invective. That doesn't make it right, but it takes an act of focused denial to pretend it doesn't happen on both sides.

Even Ted Rall was surprised when he made a similar claim, and asked for examples to prove him wrong in his Right Wing Challenge.

Here's what Rall said regarding left political hate speech after the Challenge was over:

Believe it or not, no, I did NOT know that any of this stuff was out there. I'd read references by Republican bloggers to such things, but no one ever provided a link and I could never find it. Suffice it to say, this stuff pisses me off and should not be tolerated by anyone who purports to be a law-abiding American. And again: mainstream blogs like Kos should delete this shit as soon as it appears--as should the nasty right-wing sites like Little Green Footballs.

Has the challenge been met? Yes. The scale may not not quite be the same, but there is clearly a significant amount of leftie hate speech out there to match the crap the righties put out. I can't shame the righties into doing anything, but to readers who agree with me about anything, please consider what this does to us and how it invalidates our arguments.


Here's the link to the follow-up to his Right Wing Challenge post:

http://tedrall.com/2005_02_01_archive.html#110944822456502796

I agree with what he says. I wish more of the wingnuts would, too. Everyone loses when all we have for political discourse is a bunch of shrieking and loathing. Not exactly humanity's finest hour. More importantly, it decreases the probability of solving problems.

Peace.

[bpilgrim]

13. if you throw in the www sure it's everywhere but in the M$M it is DOMINATE

by RW/CORPORATE SPIN & LIES

thats the major problem, imho.

peace

[carpe diem]

14. with all due respect...

the hate speech from the right is part of the Republican party and American mainstream...Tom Delay and Bill Frist are two of the most powerful men in government, Ann Coulter is on the COVER of freaking Time Magazine...the RW talking points are on the cable news channels all day everyday and their most vitriolic hacks have shows on THEIR OWN cable news channel and dominate talk radio...some anonymous comments left on a few blogs are IN NO WAY COMPARABLE...

[bpilgrim]

10. hmm... where have i heard that before ;->

it is well documented that the M$MWs - and others - are using BS RW talking points and when you call'm on it they try to say 'it's a camp mentality, happens with both-sides, blah, blah, blah' all the while NEVER taking responsibility.

these past 5 years have simply been stunning in the propaganda fed to us by the M$MW. even folks only casually paying attention can see it.

we need to STAND UP and CALL OUT the RW BS that is try'n to TAKE OVER & POISON all discussion.

peace

[Psephos]

11. I'm with you on your last statement, but agin' you on your arguments

You might try this book sometime:

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0684831074/qid=1118032859/sr=8-1/ref=pd_csp_1/002-5575623-4847238?v=glance&s=books&n=507846


You might also find this page useful regarding effective argument:

http://www.don-lindsay-archive.org/skeptic/arguments.html

Specifically, your technique of casting aspersion on someone's opinion by sarcastically saying "hmm, where have I heard that before?" and then ascribing it all to a giant conspiracy, uses fallacious techniques. (Can you find them? They are Appeal to Anonymous Authority, Argument by Selective Observation, and Tautology). I'd be far more interested in hearing your arguments and evidence clearly evinced instead of your insinuations. For example, if it's "well documented," where are the documents? I'm not saying there aren't any, but I need more than your opinion. Otherwise, don't say it's well-documented, simply say that in your opinion, x y z. Then you don't have to do any homework. :-)

Finally, I'll be curious about your reaction to Ted Rall's commentary I alluded to in my previous post.

My position is we have to police ourselves a bit more unless we wish to be just like them.

SHUDDER GAK

Peace.

[bpilgrim]

12. try'n to make a point that it is not a level play'n field

and it is well documented by various orgs that monitor the media that publish their findings and discussed daily right here on DU.

so are you saying that the RW BS doesn't DOMINATE the MEDIA?

no offense meant :hi:

peace

[Psephos]

15. No, I very much agree with you...

...and it sickens me daily.

We all come from different angle, but I think we're all going to the same place. My personality is such that I want us to have the best arguments and the least ambiguity in the progressive message.

No offense offered or taken. :-) Actually, I've seen a number of your posts before, and I always admire your energy.

(Now that I think about it, I may have gotten my habit of signing each post with "Peace" from you, too.)

Peace.

[MrModerate]

3. This is pure Martinez, something he does over and over:

Issue some hateful statement that pubbies and fundies foam at the mouth over, and when called on it by reasonable people, claim that an irresponsible aide did the dirty deed and fire the poor schmoe (whose career in wingnut hate circles is, of course, now assured).

Martinez is so full of shit he squishes when he walks.

[kliljedahl]

4. "never my intention to politicize this issue"?

BULLSHIT!!

Keith’s Barbeque Central

[Straight Shooter]

8. Martinez was mortified?

Uh-huh. Yeah, right. And I'm soooooo proud of bush. :eyes: